H o u s i n g
AllHow Difficult can by Chris Taylor, Deputy Chairman of the RAF Families Federation
A
fter numerous complaints about the performance of some of their Housing Information Centres
(HICs), DE responded by opening the door to all 7 centres and inviting a small team to compile a ‘warts and all’ report…
On the direction of Air Commodore Elaine West, DE Director Estate Operations Housing, the team of 3 was formed. You may be asking why the team were visiting the HICs and not just asking the customers what the issues are? The short answer is that each Service, along with their respective Families Federation, is not short of evidence on the impact on families where the shortfalls of Service Families Accommodation (SFA) are concerned; however, information on why these issues persist is not so evident. Therefore, the invitation by DE to allow a predominantly external team to take a critical look at the HICs was a leap of faith by DE and an offer we all jumped at!
The team comprised Mrs Sheila Cameron of Defence Estates (Area Manager of Rosyth HIC), Major Hugh O’Neil Roe of HQ Land (SO 2 Living Accommodation) and me. The team had, therefore, the interests of DE, the three Services and the Families Federations covered. The Terms of Reference asked us to review, within each HIC: the office environment; staff performance; and communications and working relationships.
The method was fairly simple, we started at Rosyth HIC, where Sheila is Area Manager, and worked south! First of all, the team agreed that the HIC concept does work and that the best working environment is ‘open plan’. HICs located in more traditional MOD office blocks also work but communication, among other issues, becomes problematical.
Talking of staff, the team recognised the determination of all the HIC personnel, whether Civil Service or agency, to try
28 Winter 2008
www.raf-families-federation.org.uk
and allocate SFA to suit the choice of the applicant. So why are there so many difficulties? While a significant number of allocations are not problematical, the HICs face a significant number of, what we called ‘barriers to effectiveness’. Internal barriers included: the high turnover of staff in some HICs and the challenges of recruiting in areas of high employment or remote locations; unsuitable accommodation (particularly evident in the southern-most HICs); the inability to train effectively or organise staff meetings within the HIC opening times; and weak internal communication between the HICs and the DE Ops Housing HQ.
External barriers were even more enlightening, for example: limited visibility of postings and movements; late return of empty SFA following maintenance or refurbishment; SFA not presented to DE on time or at the required standard for move- in. All limit DE’s ability to forward plan SFA allocations. Add then, the non-availability of stock in a preferred area of choice and a major cause of dissatisfaction for families is identified. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, a further source of complaint
ocating a Quarter Be? We Find Out…
arises when SFA, assuming it is clean and to move-in standard, is allocated correctly to entitlement but the SFA fails to meet family expectations.
The team found that while many problems were internal to DE, many were the domain of external organisations and often beyond the ‘pure’ process allocation. Families want quality SFA, in the right place at the right time. What they do not want is to become embroiled in complaints procedures or being bounced between various departments while issues are resolved.
The solutions will take a team effort, by team I mean DE, the chain of command, the HPCs and licence holders, to improve things. It will be a significant challenge and not all our recommendations may be accepted or done at once, but the initiative to capture the issues in one comprehensive document is a big step forward and we were delighted to be involved. Certainly, the Families Federations will continue to be engaged as closely as possible with all concerned for the benefit of families occupying SFA.
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